We are staying in North Uist for a month. North Uist is possibly the most beautiful of all the Outer Hebrides islands. It is nearly 50% water, with lochs and rivers. It has moorland and hills, and many many really stunning beaches, with white sand and blue sea. There are few other tourists at this time of year and very often we are the only people on a walk. It is an ideal place to have dogs. So why is one of our dogs on a lead?

On Monday, I took the dogs for a run on Crachan Sands, a really lovely quiet beach. They are usually off lead on a beach because Lulu and Ziggy love to play in the sand, pouncing and rolling each other over. So I had no hesitation in letting them go. In woodland I am more careful because Lulu likes to chase rabbits and squirrels. What I had not realised was that the dunes we had just crossed were one massive rabbit warren, and as soon as I let Lulu off, she rushed across the beach and into the long grass and bushes.

The dogs are Cairn terriers and while Ziggy will always come to call, hoping for a treat, Lulu is a typical terrier and has a huge prey drive. Over the next three hours I occasionally heard an excited yelp but I could not find or recall Lulu. Ziggy was also very upset as she helped me search, and cried for her sister. I began to panic that Lulu was stuck down a rabbit hole.

Eventually, three rabbits dashed across a field and I saw and heard Lulu following. Ziggy was on her in a flash, telling her off, and I managed to catch her. She was subdued because she knew she had been naughty, but I was just so relieved and delighted to have her back.

But since then, while we have walked many many beautiful beaches, Lulu has stayed on her lead. Understandable.